monkey wrench in the works

English

Noun

monkey wrench in the works (plural monkey wrenches in the works)

  1. Synonym of spanner in the works.
    • 1951, United States, Congress, House, Committee on Foreign Affairs, The Mutual Security Program, Hearings Before the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Eighty-second Congress, First Session, on H.R. 5020 and H.R. 5113 (the Mutual Security Program)., page 416:
      Now I understand the French have reneged on their former agreement and there is considerable throwing of monkey wrenches in the works, and the situation has bogged down completely.
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